Page:Arthur Stringer - The Door of Dread.djvu/52

 like that of a window-sash being savagely pried open.

This was followed by a rustle of drapery and the quick sharp scream of a woman. Then came a silence, followed by the sound of a woman's voice, slightly tremulous with terror. "Who are you?"

It was a man's voice that answered, menacing, deliberate and not altogether pleasant to hear. "Never mind who I am. But I want those Navy plans you took off that Easterner, and I want them quick!"

"You will never get those papers," was the woman's deliberately defiant reply.

"I think I will!"

"Those papers belong to the Navy Department and they will go back to the Navy Department, no matter what Keudell or any of his spies may do!"

The man, apparently, had advanced farther into the room.

"Keep back!"

"Not this—"

The sentence was never finished. The next moment a shot rang out, followed by the sound of an uncertain step or two, and then the dull thud of a falling body.